Jesus in Ray-Bans: SOUL FOOD

Turkey bacon is a lie of the devil. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but for a big guy who loves to eat, something about it just seems evil and deceptive. That’s because turkey bacon looks like real bacon, it even smells like real bacon. However, the taste gives it away for what it truly is…strips of turkey masquerading as glorious bacon!

Oh, I know there are those of you who would argue that it tastes just as good. You would no doubt tell me how much longer I’d live if I gave up “true bacon” for the deceptive turkey imposter. I do know a great guy in my church that has given up all meat and dairy. He’s lost so much weight and looks so healthy. But my argument to him is that while I may die sooner, he will have to carry my coffin for the funeral…and that will surely do him in!

Of all our senses, taste is the most intimate. You can sniff around food, you can look at it and even touch it. But until you TASTE it, you can’t know if it’s the real thing or just more “turkey bacon”. Playing it safe will not prove anything. Only when you commit and make that bacon a part of you can you tell what it really is. And yes, it is good…somebody say “amen”!

NO THANKS
I have another dear friend who is not a Christian. Sometimes when he knows I’m listening, he’ll say a couple of Bible verses in jest as a response to a problem or question. He’ll flash a quick smile at me, and I smile back with satisfaction that he does know some of God’s Word.

We both know why he does it. He’s letting me know he is not ignorant of what I believe, he just doesn’t want any of it. He’s stating in his own friendly, good-natured way, “I’ve tried a little of your God, and He’s not for me. Thanks, but no thanks.”

If I were going to call his bluff, I would point him to Psalm 34. In that chapter, David exclaims, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!” It’s not just by accident David didn’t say, “Oh LOOK and see” or “Oh LISTEN and see”, because much of what we see and hear masquerading as God today is little more than “turkey bacon”…or maybe even bologna.

Have you ever pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge, poured a glass and drank it only to spit it out because it had turned sour? Nothing more disgusting – I can imagine your face cringing even now as I describe it! Tasting is a big risk, because once you’ve put food in your mouth, you can get really sick if it’s gone bad. So to taste something, you’ve got to be “all in” – without that risk, you can’t expect to experience just how good it tastes.

I believe if my friend truly tasted of the things of God…if he committed and risked it all the way by letting God into his life instead of just sniffing around God’s table…he would see how good God really is!

But I know lots of people who are unwilling to take that risk. They even pop by my church sometimes, hoping for “just a whiff” of God. They sniff around the place oh so cautiously, they watch people worship, they listen to the message – anything but committing themselves “whole hog” (pardon the pun). It makes me sad when some walk away unchanged, but you can’t just sniff around the things of God and expect anything to happen. It’s all or nothing.

3D WITHOUT GLASSES
It would be like me going to a 3D movie, where everyone gets to wear those nerdy-looking glasses. I love those things – I like to turn around and see how goofy the whole place looks with them on! But what if I tried to watch the movie without wearing the glasses? I’d go up to the theater manager and complain, saying “That was the blurriest movie I’ve ever seen. And nothing looked 3D at all!” When he asks if I put my glasses on, I’d say, “Of course not – I’d look goofy in those things!”

Likewise, I’m sorry if you’re afraid risking everything on believing in God will leave you looking like a sucker if He doesn’t show up for you. But He is never going to show up if you keep playing it safe, keeping Him at an arms-length, coming to church in your HAZMAT suit like Walter White (inside reference – you know who you are).

IF GOD IS GOOD, WHY IS SO MUCH BAD?
My atheist and agnostic friends would argue, “How can you say God is good when there is so much wrong in the world?” That’s easy.

I never said, “Life is good”. Life is hard, and often filled with injustice, selfishness and evil. Bad people often prosper, while good people struggle. And most of us whither away at the end of our years, unable to pass on much of the wisdom life has taught us.

No, life is not always good. But God is!

In spite of all the evil around us, knowing God and living life with Him does in fact make it all worthwhile. How many times have I gone to the hospital to visit some dear old saint with the expectation of having to cheer them up, just to have the tables turned on me and listen as THEY proceed to cheer ME up!

I’m still amazed at how in the midst of hardship and pain, Christians can choose to find joy in their sorrows and peace in their prisons. That’s because they know the secret of this life is the goodness of God and the privilege of knowing Him is what makes all the pain worthwhile. He never said it would be otherwise. Jesus said bluntly, “In the world, you will have trouble.” But thank God, He also said “He has overcome the world”, and one day we will taste and see that promise come to fruition!

SOUL FOOD FAMILY
I love spending time with my brother-in-law Claude. He is African-American, and he knows that in my heart, part of me wishes I were too! I love Black Gospel music and Black preachers – the freedom and excitement is invigorating to me like nothing else. I’ve joked to my congregation that when I get to heaven, I’ll be T.D. Jakes!

One day Claude decided to let me experience a little “soul food”. He kept asking me if I “was sure I could handle it”, but I assured him I could (though I really had no idea what I was in for). He took me to a place on the east side of Knoxville, TN. When we pulled up, I could see it was nothing more than a whole in the wall. Questions toward the sanitary conditions of the establishment did go through my mind, but I quickly dismissed them…mainly because I knew if Claude had survived the food, I probably would too.

When I opened the front door, a truck-load of smells overwhelmed me – all of them wonderful. We got our trays and slid them along like at the school cafeteria, as we looked into what was being served up behind the grease-smeared glass. There were some things that I did not recognize, and I’ll admit I passed on anything with the words “jowls” or “feet” in the title.

However, I did recognize fried chicken, and then I saw some green beans that had completely surrendered their original flavoring to the hunk of ham nestled in their midst (much like a diamond in a gold setting…yes, I wax poetic when describing food!). And the ribs…I’m afraid if I described them accurately, my article would be banned by the censors.

Then there was my favorite – banana pudding! This was happily not newly-made pudding, but instead the kind that had been around a day or so – you know, so that the vanilla wafers had started disintegrating into the pudding and become a little mushy. Much like fine wine, banana pudding must be allowed to age before consuming it…listen and learn, young people.

By the end of the meal, we were covered in food. There was no way to eat it daintily – the BBQ sauce, the chicken grease, the pudding was either on our faces or our clothes…or both. When I arrived home, my wife looked at me, smelled me, and then said, “Where in the world have you two been?” We literally reeked of that soul food restaurant! For a man who loves black culture, I felt I’d just had the equivalent of my Bar Mitzvah.

WHEN YOU’VE TASTED THE REAL THING
My friends, that is what tasting of God – the real God – is like. He is not something you can get into without Him getting all over you. No cute little WetWipe will remove the smell of Him off your clothes, and no discouragement from this world can take His smile off your face. Because when you have truly TASTED of Him, you can’t hide it.

THAT is what this world needs to see from Christians! Not lectures from us or judging looks, but to come into their lives absolutely REEKING of His goodness – no, His greatness! Because when you’ve really tasted of Him, you won’t be able to hide it. He will betray you to everyone as His true follower, and He as the Lover of your soul…

I think I’m about to start preaching, so you’d better get that old cafeteria tray ready for some good stuff – “OH TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD!” …can I get an amen, somebody?